Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-02-15
a TREASURY RAID.

The Legislature Is asked to pay certain
parties sums of money for certain wagon
roads and trails in the Yosemite valley
There is no merit in any of them. If these
claims should be approved, and backed by
law requiring them to be paid, it will be
an outrage. Frequently since the State
took charge Of this superb heritage, which
benefcent Government made possible to
her, there have been attempts, more or
less successful, to use it as means OF
bleeding either the State or tourists-most
frequently both-and the diligence of a
State Commission has not been wholly
able to prevent these trespasses. Fora long
time tourists were the chief sufferers, but
the impositions in that direction being cur
tailed, the State was sought out as means
of compensation for departed privileges.
Judging from the past history of these
franchises, one might be justified in the
seeming extravaganza of statement that
the State is not, and never will be, rich
enough to buy herself free from these privi-
leges. They are perennial, and apparently
VIII never know death.
The roads and trails were built under
contracts specifying that they were to be-
come the property of the State at the ex-
piration Of ten years. The Act of Congress,
which was the Federal deed of gift of the
valley and adjacent reservation to the
State of California, specially provided that
no leases should be made for longer than ter,
gears. But this wise prescience to prevent
the valley being made an instrument of
extortion, was in many instances evaded,
b. making a lease for shorter period, and
renewing it for ten years. In nearly every
case the owners of the trails had the use
of their property for from ten to sixteen
years, and collected tolls upon it
for the whole of that time. In
most part they were mere apologies
for trails for tourists, being little
more than inexpensive sheep-paths along
the walls of the valley. At no time in all
their history did they ever rise to the
dignity of roadways sufficient for single
horse. These properties paid to their
owners royal profits, they being permitted
to exact dollar from every person riding
over one of them-the most eXorbitant
blood-sweating toll ever wrung from an
unhappy tourist in the round world, the
cost Of construction and length of the trail
being considered. With the expiration of
the leases, these trails fell by limitation to
the State. In many ways, quite too num-
erous to mention now, the trail owners
sought to wrench from the State money to
which they have no earthly right. The
entire raft Of them have now pooled their
issues, and made dead set upon a Legis-
lature inclined to be generous and merci-
full, under the guise Of purchases.
Ii is proposed to take several thousands
of the peoples money TO pay parties for
making a wagon road who would Jump
at the chance of privilege to construct
such a road over the grant and pay a
round premium for the privilege. They
solicited this privilege for the stage CON-
panies, and wished to drive their stages
into the valley. All benefit attaching to
the enterprise they derived, and now hay-
ing constructed the roads and established
lines of travel over the routes, they ask
the State to pay them back more than the
cost of construction.
Suppose these parties had come up tc
the State with this proposition 1--WE want
you to build a wagon road from the limits
of your grant down to the hotels in youl
valley then we want to enjoy the priv
lege of the roads to carry passengers into
and out of the valley, and charge them fol
the service, and in addition TO charge toll
on the road" OF course such impudence
would have received proper rebuke, and
the petitioners would have been indig
nantly told to go about their business
They knew this, and therefore asked sim
ply for the privilege of building the road.
themselves. But being once constructed
and having Injured to the benefit of the
companies building them, and to then
prosperity, these men now come to the
State and coolly ask indemnity.
1t would drive Solomon to the verge
of insanity to discover wherein that I'M
fortunate commonwealth, the State Of
California, has done any wrong, that il
should be made to sweat coin into the
purses of these wagon-road petitioners. In
what has the State damaged them that it
should be called upon to make reparation
If such claim were made by one citizen
upon another, there is not Court in the
land that would give the case ten minutes
standing upon its docket after the facts
were made known. 1t remains to be seen
whether the State will, in the chief tribu-